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Columbia City 'Rehrer' QB

“Ever since I started playing football I always knew I wanted to be a quarterback.” From the Junior Football League days to the first time he stepped foot onto Max Gandy Athletic Field, Columbia City quarterback Logan Rehrer knew what he wanted to be. The QB. The gunslinger. The man under center. However you want to put it, Rehrer grew up with hard work put into being the man with the ball every play. Now in his third season as starting QB, the senior’s hard work has paid off. No. 8 Columbia City stands at 9-1 with its first Northeast Hoosier Conference title since 1990. Meanwhile, Rehrer has been busy in the record books rewriting anything from single-game marks to claiming the top spot in career numbers. Nine records, to be sure of, have been broken so far this season. Rehrer has made his biggest mark in the all-time career standings with total offense (5,596), passing yards (5,115), touchdowns (41), completions (425) and attempts (811) all falling into his possession. More than half of his career touchdowns have come in his final season with a single season record of 23. Rehrer has his head coach Randy Hudgins to thank for a lot of it. In his second year with Rehrer as his starting QB, the Eagle with No. 1 on his jersey fit right into Hudgins spread passing offense. “The first time I ever saw him was on YouTube,” Hudgins admitted. “I figured I’d look up Columbia City and see what I could find. When I saw him I was impressed with his arm strength and accuracy. “Ever since I’ve got here he’s done a good job of grasping the offense and being a coach on the field.” The success wasn’t immediate under Hudgins, however. A six-touchdown, 14-interception junior year had some setbacks before the reversal of fortunes in 2010. Now at 23 touchdowns, six INTs and only 93 passing yards from a single season record, Rehrer has taken the reins of the Eagles offense more confidently. “There are times where he’ll come to the sidelines and he’ll say ‘hey I think this is going to work.’” Hudgins said. “Usually it does. We had at least one touchdown from him knowing what will work and making it happen.” But it’s not Rehrer taking all the credit. The five guys in the trenches along with his fellow seniors have brought winning back to Columbia City. “It has a lot to do with our seniors and our work ethic,” Rehrer noted. “We have a lot of good receivers. As a quarterback you love passing the ball. We have a good set of receivers and that makes it easier for me. “The line, that’s really the heart and soul of the offense, because they don’t get nearly the recognition they should.” The passing offense has also opened the door to another element of Rehrer arsenal. In the past, Rehrer was scouted as a pocket passer with no threat of a run. That’s changed with the air attack opening up the field for the senior to use his legs instead of his arm. Rehrer has 10 rushing touchdowns to go along with his passing numbers. “It helps that the defenses are so aware of our passing game,” Rehrer said. “It kind of opens up everything for us to run. People don’t expect me to scramble so it kind of helps.” No game better described Rehrer’s double-threat ability than week seven’s game at East Noble. Three records fell in a 56-55 game-winning performance from Rehrer. After throwing the winning two-point conversion to Jared Murphy, Rehrer opened three single game records for the QB — passing yards (458), completions (29), attempts (50) — and the most points for City since 1994. Rehrer’s season has put him among the best QBs in the state ranking in the top five in several categories. With the season still alive for another Friday night, Rehrer continues to boost his numbers in the Columbia City record books. Only time will tell as the season ultimately ends, another Eagle takes the snaps and his records stand whether Columbia City had one of its ‘Rehrerest’ QBs in the program’s long history.